Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday launched a $75 million global investment fund to invest in sportstech start-ups with an initial corpus of $75 million and a greenshoe option of $25 million. A multi-stage fund, it is the first organised venture capital fund by an Asian sportsperson and the first by an Indian celebrity.
The 37-year-old opener, his partners and team announced the fund, Da One Global Ventures (DOGV), at the LP-GP Summit by 256 Network (a private, invite-only organisation of asset allocators) during the annual Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Finance Week. Global financial market leaders from a wide array of backgrounds gathered at the ADGM to focus on strategic macroeconomic and financial matters that shape global, regional and industry perspectives and themes for future.
Through a unique network of general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs), DOGV will provide access to a global ecosystem accelerating and mobilising new propositions with unique positioning. The deployment of funds will be global in nature. The fund will also have other prominent sporting personalities from across the globe representing multiple sports as LP ambassadors.
DOGV is in active discussions with various relevant stakeholders across the world. It will also incubate a SportsTech Accelerator and eSports Venture studio as verticals within its platform, say reports.
